Chemical bomb



March 11, 1952 s. G. PONDER ETAL 2,589,129

CHEMICAL BOMB Original Filed Nov. 7, 1944 2 SI-lEETS-SHEET 1 MJfMWaZ.

Arrow/vs);

Patented Mar. 11, 1952 UNITED. STATES PATENT OFFICE Fischer, Baltimore, Md.,

Mamaroneck, N. Y.

and Leo Edelson,

Continuation of application Serial No. 562,371, This application July 12,

November 7, 1944.

1950, Serial No. 174,862

2 Claims.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government, for governmental purposes, without the payment to us of any royalty thereon.

This is a continuation application filed in lieu of our joint application for patent, Serial Num ber 562,371, same subject, which was filed in the Patent Office, on November '7, 1944, now abandoned.

This invention relates particularly to tail ejection bombs used with chemical agent fillings.

Since the beginning of the present war, much effort has been devoted to developing a tail ejection bomb intended to function after penetrating the target or striking the ground by forcefully ejecting its filling from the tail like a mortar. To fulfill its functions emciently, the .bomb should have a high filling capacity, high dropaccuracy, and reliable ejection action.

An object of this invention is to provide a tail ejection bomb which functions eificiently with the aid of the following features:

a. A dome type ejection chamber which simplifies the internal structure, facilitating manufacture and reducing the likelihood of leakage;

b. An internally balanced construction and weight distribution to give the bomb truer flight and reduce the tendency of the bomb to drift downwind in fallin 0. An extensible tail fin shaft which permits compact .clustering and efficient flight stabilization;

d. The use .of an all-way fuze having a suitable construction for avoiding malfunctioning.

The accomplishment of the foregoing and further objects of the invention will be understood from the following description of the several features with reference to thedrawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a fragmentary elevational side view of the bomb having its ejection-type tail fin recessed in a tail cup, as when the bomb is clustered;

Figure 2 shows a plan View of the tail fin assembly;

Figure 3 show a view of the nose end of the bomb in elevation;

Figure 4 is a relatively enlargedcross-sectional view of the fuze along its longitudinal axis;

Figure 15 is a cross-sectional view of a lower (nose end) portion of the bomb along its longitudinal axis; V

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional View of the upper part of the bomb along its longitudinal axi and with its ejection-type tail extended as in flight.

In the drawings the same numerals refer to like parts.

Referring to the drawings, l represents the bomb casing formed of sheet metal having satisfactory structural strength but being as thin as possible to increase the filling capacity, e. g., 19 gage sheet steel. For efiicient clustering, the bomb casing I is hexagonal in cross-section. I

The principal parts of the bomb are the ejection or explosion chamber in the nose end, the tail assembly, and the filling, each of which will be described in detail.

At the nose end, the casing l is suitably sealed by a standard brazing process to the nose, cup assembly, comprising a relatively thick walled cup 2 flanged inwardly around a bottom central opening 3, which is threaded for a screwing in an all-way fuze at its head 4. After the installation of the dome 5 sealed internally at its base to an annular adapter 6 and after insertion of powder bags], the all-way fuze is disposed with its long axis projecting substantially in line with the long axis of the bomb perpendicularl to the bottom part of the nose cup.

The fuze comprises the threaded head plug 4 screwed into a cylindrical case 5' to form therewith a hollow body having interior cylindrical sidewall surface 6' and conical end surfaces 1' and 8. The firing mechanism of the fuze comprises a sleeve 9 in which is mounted a percussion primer Ii] over ,a flash back bore I I a strike [2 slidably guided by the sleeve 9, a striker restraining spring l3, and a safety pin I4 for looking the striker against movement when the fuze is unarmed.

An arming pin 1.5 extends through an axial bore in the head plug 4 and into the striker l2 to depress the safety pin 14 into a locking position against the force of a coil spring 16 which tends to recess the safety pm I .4 within the striker and permit plunging movement of the striker into the sleeve on set back upon impact after the arming pin l5 has been ejected by arming spring I l in arming the fuze, The arming pin 15 has a conical head l8 abutting an end of a release pin is and on the inner side is pressedby the arming spring ll. The arming .pin head It is guided in a, central bore of a retainer '20 screwed into threaded engagement with the head plug 4. At the end of the retainer 20 the release pin is held in place by a retaining pull wire 2| which passes through a hole in the end of the release pin It. The retaining wire is kept in this place until the fuze is installed and the bomb has been placed in a cluster in such a manner that an adjaant bomb depresses the release pin I9 to keep the fuze unarmed. The retaining wire are removed from each of the bombs in the nating in a hook 32.

3 cluster before the cluster is released from the aircraft.

At the other end of the fuze case 5" is placed a delay charge 22 to receive a flash back from the primer I6 through bore 1 I in the sleeve of the firingmechanism. A suitable delay element is a 'spitter fuze comprising black powder com- 1 pressed in rolled lead 23 with a match composition 24 at the ends.

formed to delay transmissionof the fire to fuze powder 25 for a period of about'l to 3 seconds in order to give time for penetration into the target before the bomb "functions to "eject its filling. The fuze powder 25 is held against the base of fuze case 5 by a cellulose nitrate plaster cup 26. The cup is cemented to the case 5' and.

is reinforced in. position by a zinc band 21.

The spitter fuze may be or sleeve 39adapted to slide into the well 36,

and with stabilizing finsor ribs 45 aflixed to the outer extremity of, sleeve 39. proof seal a gland-like joint is made where the I I To insure leake tubular well 36 extends into, the tail cup 35 which I issecured to a hub 4|, the plug 42 in. threaded engagement with hub 4[ is tightened against a lead-antimony washer 43, and an adapter 44 having a chamfered thread is screwed tightly into plug 42. The tubular tail shaft 33 is flared out wardly at its open end which slides along. the

inner surface of the well 36, and the shaft 39 is As a special safeguard for keeping the'fuze un armed in the cluster, an L-shaped release bar having one leg 30 extends contiguously along the 2 side of the bomb, has the other leg 3I nearly flush at the end of the release pin I9 and termi- The hook 32 is normally clasped by -a clip 33 fixed to the bottom of nose cup 2. When the released cluster is opened,-and

' I the bombs become separated, the release bar falls away fromeach bomb case I, permitting therelease pin I3 to 'becomeejected simultaneously.

The arming. pin I5 becomes withdrawn from the:

firing mechanism in the fuze bythe action of the arming spring H. The release bar is held in i place by a bomb case lying. at the side of the bomb to which it is attached, as well as any bomb case against the nose'end, and keeps the fuze I prevented from being completely ejected from the tail cup by having aninward flange on the adapter 44 through which, the outward ,fiare of the;

shaft 39 is unable to'pass. The ribs or fins '40 on the extremities of the tail shaft 39 are radial vanes which may be conveniently bent neartheir outward ends and held in place by a cylindrical I I band 40' brazed or spot welded tothe ribs. theirinner ends, thefins 40 may be brazed or spot welded to shaft 39. I

The tail cup assembly may be installed after the casing has been filled, and when the bombs are clustered the tail tube shaft 39' carrying the I I I tail ribs is recessed into the tube sleeve 33, simultaneously I compressing the strong music wire spring therein until the ribs 40 are fully contained within the cup, the shaping and size of the ribs being such as to permit them tofit into the space around hub 41 within the cup 35.;

The sides of the tail "cup and the threaded parts I I engagedto hub 4I maybe luted, and lubricated by release pin I9 lodges against the corresponding conical surface at the end of the bore in retainer 20, and thus the fuze is sealed against gas pressure loss.

The adapter 6, which is U-shaped in cross section, is conveniently sealed to the inside of the flange 3 of the nose cup 2 and to the inner bottom side of the dome 5 by a standard brazing procedure e. g., with silver braze by induction. Thus a leakproof seal is easily obtained making the fuze and propellant powder I fully secure against deterioration. The construction, as shown, facilitates the installation of the parts and application of the brazing.

The dome 5 is provided with a rolled circumferential groove 34, which may have a radius of inch in the side of the dome constructed from No. 16 standard'gage steel. When the powder charge I is detonated, the dome 5 becomes ruptured at the circumferential rolled groove 34, and

the side of the dome along the groove may become expanded toward the sides of the bomb case as the dome is explosively'forced toward the tail end of the bomb case. The bottom of the filling within the bomb case may come up to the top of the dome 5, or, as in the use of a liquid agent such as mustard, the filling may fill the case and also surround the dome 5 in the space between the domeand the inner surface of the nose cup 2.

The ejection-type tail assembly consists in a tail cup 35 crimp flanged to the tall or rear edge of the casing I with cup 35 opening outwardly. a tubular well 35 extending centrally through the cup 35 into the bomb with a plugged or closed bottom 31 and opened top, a coiled ejecting spring 38 in the well 33, a slidable tubular shaft suitable materials, as for :example, a heavy hydrocarbon lubricating oil.

The dome made frangible by scoring. or the grooving 34 is in one integral piece before rupturing and thus makes a definitely leakproof housing with secure sealing. 1

For clustering purposes,

are recessed in the tail cup, the described type of bomb may be of the same size and shape as standardized incendiary bombs. Accordingly, with a hexagonal cross section the bomb may be 19 inches long and 2% inches wide across the flats. Filled and fuzed, a bomb of this size weighs about 10 pounds with any of the various fillings, e. g., liquid mustard (dichloroethyl sulfide) white phosphorus, or incendiary oils.

In bombs filled with incendiary oils, it is advantageous to have a small plastic container 46 filled with white phosphorus 41 located behind the dome 5. This white phosphorus container serves the double purpose of aiding ignition of the incendiary oil on expulsion and producing smoke. Moreover, the white phosphorus itself expelled from the bomb gives increased incendiary action and casualty effects. The container 46 is satisfactorily constructed of a frangible plastic, such as phenol-formaldehyde, the walls of the plastic container being about 4; inch thick. In filling and forming the container 46, the white phosphorus is preferably coated with a copper sulfate, and a shallow portion of the container. is cemented to the filled portion of the container with liquid phenol-formaldehyde resin cement mixed with distilled water and hydrochloric acid.

In the oil incendiary bomb. a filling 48 of gelled gasoline which occupies the major part of the bomb, is preferably inclosed in a cheesecloth sock 49, the end 50 of which is tied securely.

In Figure 6 it will be noted that the sock is completely filled with the fuel gel and that sufiicient space is left to permit the sock to flex and with I the extensible I tail fin shaft assembly compressed so that the fins permit the semi viscous gel to flow, or move around the well 36 into the annular space 'between the Welland the inner :surface of the bomb casing. This arrangement :serves, not only to keep the 'sock .from moving freely in the bomb casing, but also aids in keeping its center of gravity near the longitudinal center line of the bomb casing. Furthermore, this arrangement of the sock, in combination with the thin walled dome provides shock absorbing means to prevent the walls-of the plastic container from becoming broken. This container holds white phosphorus, a self igniting element in the presence of oxygen or air. Hence, it is extremely desirable that the container does not become broken. Exposing phosphorus to the air in a bomb casing substantially increases the hazards inherent in handling this type of bomb and, if the phosphorus becomes thus exposed it, of course, ignites itself or forms phosphorus oxide fumes, which may prematurely escape from the casing.

A suitable type of incendiary oil filling is formulated by gelling gasoline or naphtha hydrocarbon liquids with soaps that form stable gels, such as mixtures of aluminum soaps, of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, e. g., stearates and oleates, and of naphthenic acids. The gelling soaps are generally used in proportions of about '7 to 15% by weight of the liquid fuel. formulated from liquid hydrocarbon fuels mixed with gelling or thickening agents, such as, isobutyl methacrylate polymer, rubber, and oil thickening synthetic elastomers. The gelled or thickened fuels may contain dispersed finely divided combustible solid materials, such as pyrophoric metals, like finely divided magnesium, cellulose nitrate, powdered carbon, wood meal, and the like. As previously noted, the tail ejection bomb described becomes armed upon being released from a falling cluster, the arming occurring when the L-shaped release bar is about to fall free from the bomb nose so as to allow ejection of the release pin l9 from the fuze. With the ejection of the release pin IS the arming pin I5 is forced by spring I! away from the firing mechanism, so that the safety pin I4 becomes recessed in the striker 12. With the fuze thus armed, the firing mechanism is left unattached to the fuze body so that it is free to undergo a gyration to the extent that the ends of the fuze mechanism ride on the cam-like conical surfaces 1' and 8'.

If the bomb impacts with the fuze in a perfectly vertical position, the inertia of the unlocked striker l2 overcomes the resistance of the spring I 3 and is driven against the primer cup II) in the sleeve 9. If the bomb falls in such a manner that the fuze on impact is in an oblique or horizontal position, the armed firing mechanism of the unlocked striker coupled slidably in the sleeve tends to gyrate into a position in which the striker I2 is forced toward the primer cup l0, this mechanism being telescopically collapsed, as the outer ends of the striker l2 and the sleeve 9 ride on the cam-like end surfaces 7 and 8.

In any position the unattached firing mechanism can assume in the fuze, the flash back from the percussion primer, through bore H is able to initiate burning of the spitter fuze or relay element l2 which transmits the firing in a period of about one to three seconds to the fuze powder 25, the burning of the fuze powder 25 instantaneously sets ofi the explosion of at Other suitable incendiary fuels may be 5. propellant powder charge, such as black powder or smokeless powder contained in cellulose nitrate bags 1. A satisfactory propellant charge for the powder containers 1 is formulated from 2 grams of black powder mixed with about 3 grams of magnesium powder and about 6% by weight of linseed oil.

The explosion of the propellant charge in the powder container 1 ruptures the dome 5 at the groove 34, and the dome is violently expelled'forcing the white phosphorous container, the incendiary filling in the sock 49 and the tail assembly out through the rear end of the bomb.

When the bombs are filled with white phosphorus with the exclusion of incendiary oil, practically all the space within the bomb case in which between the dome 5 and the tail cup 35 may be occupied by the white phosphorous filling, but this filling is preferably surrounded at the inner surface of the casing I by a suitable lining, such as an asphaltic enamel, paper, or impregnated paper. The functioning of the bomb is the same as described with respect to the oil incendiary filled bomb, the ruptured dome 5 acting to eject the white phosphorous and the tail assembly upon explosion of the propelling charge.

In bombs filled with other chemical agents, suitable linings may be used inside the casing l for insuring preservation of the casing against attack by the filling agent. For example, in using a liquid mustard filling, it is desirable to coat the inner surface of the casing and metal parts within the casing which may contact the liquid mustard with a phenol-formaldehyde resin coating.

The type of tail ejection bomb specifically described with reference to the drawings has proved to give every efiicient performance. The various features of this invention are adapted for use in other types of bombs for making similar improvements.

It is not intended that the invention be limited to the form of bomb described in detail for the purpose of illustration, since modifications come within the spirit and scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. A tall ejection bomb having an elongated casing extending the length of the bomb, a nose cup fitted into the front end of the casing; a fuse engaged to said nose cup and projecting into the casing, a dome in said casing scored around its side for housing said fuse, a frangible container in the casing adjacent said dome for holding white phosphorous in an airtight manner, a sock encircling said well adjacent to said container and partly filled with an incendiary hydrocarbon gel, a tail fin assembly comprising a centrally perforated tail cup inserted into the bomb casing, a tapered tubular well secured to the cup having a relatively large closed end portion, and a relatively small open end portion, a tubular sleeve slidably mounted in said well having an outwardly flared inner open end portion and having its opposite-closed end portion extending outside the well and connected at its extremity to stabilizingfins, a coil spring disposed longitudinally in the well and being compressed between the closed end portion of the well and the closed end portion of the sleeve and an adapter of restricted inner periphery in threaded engagement with the tail cup arranged to collar the sleeve as it is plunged outwardly from the well by the compressed spring at a position where the outward flare of the sleeve is obstructed by 8 UNITED STATES PATENTS the restricted inner periphery of the adapter. Number Name Date 2. The bomb of claim 1 in which the container 656,933 Brown Aug. 23,1900 15 made of Plastlc. 1,278,786 Teleszky Sept. 10, 1918 SPEERS PONDER- 5 1,333,786 Thomas Mar. 16, 1920 HENRY FISCHER- 1,417,460 Driggs May 23, 1922 LE0 EDELSON- 2,420,662 Hale May 20, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the 10 Number file of this patent: 22,432

France Jan. 18, 1921 (Addition to 506,904) 

1. A TAIL EJECTION BOMB HAVING AN ELONGATED CASING EXTENDING THE LENGTH OF THE BOMB, A NOSE CUP FITTED INTO THE FRONT END OF THE CASING; A FUSE ENGAGED TO SAID NOSE CUP AND PROJECTING INTO THE CASING, A DOME IN SAID CASING SCORED AROUND ITS SIDE FOR HOUSING SAID FUSE, A FRANGIBLE CONTAINER IN THE CASING ADJACENT SAID DOME FOR HOLDING WHITE PHOSPHOROUS IN AN AIRTIGHT MANNER, A SOCK ENCIRCLING SAID WELL ADJACENT TO SAID CONTAINER AND PARTLY FILLED WITH AN INCENDIARY HYDROCARBON GEL, A TAIL FIN ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A CENTRALLY PERFORATED TAIL CUP INSERTED INTO THE BOMB CASING, A TAPERED TUBULAR WELL SECURED TO THE CUP HAVING A RELATIVELY LARGE CLOSED END PORTION, AND A RELATIVELY SMALL OPEN END PORTION, A TUBULAR SLEEVE SLIDABLY MOUNTED IN SAID WELL HAVING AN OUTWARDLY FLARED INNER OPEN END PORTION AND HAVING ITS OPPOSITE CLOSED END PORTION EXTENDING OUTSIDE THE WELL AND CONNECTED AT ITS 